Garbage incinerator



\ R. H. KNIPPING GARBAGE INCINERATOR Dec. 4, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledOct. 9,l 1947 www 14% Dec. 4, 1951 R. H. KNIPPING 2,577,659

GARBAGE INCINERATOR Filed oct. 9, 1947 4 sheets-sheet 2 Il INVENTOR: aRegner@ Knip/12mg;

ATTQRNEYJ.

Dec. 4, 1951 R. H. KNIPPING GARBAGE INCINERATOR 4 Sheets-Sheetl 4 FiledOct. 9, 1947 tbl INVENTOR: Rainer- J. J(

71T: in BY PFZ ATToR/VEYS,

Patented Dec. 4, i951 UNITED STATES PATET oFFicE GARBAGE INCINERATORRainer H. Knipping, San Antonio,- Tex.

Application (ictober 9, 1947, Serial No. 7 78,819 9 claims. (Crim- 15)The present invention relates to an apparatus for disposing of garbageand the like.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a garbage incineratorwhich will accommodate so-called free garbage in the' condition ascollected, without any preliminary processing, separating, orclassifying of component' parts thereof. I

A further object ofthe invention is to provide an apparatus which willburnall combustible materials, and which will accommodate large andsmall non-combustible objects, such as tin cans, boxes, bottles and thelike, and which will separate the non-combustibles from theY ash, at theconclusion of the burning operation.

Another important object is toprovide means for dehydrating the garbage,prior to the-burning thereof, to facilitate the burningrand tomake thecombustion more efficient. To this end, the

invention provides an arrangement wherein the heatedproducts ofcombustion are conducted, by countercurrent flow directly into contactand intermingled with and pass through the'incoming garbage, so as toexract the moisturetherefrom, whereby substantially completelydehydrated material is delivered to the combustion zone.

A further objectc of the invention is to provide f an improvedinfeedsystem, in which the garbage is preheated, prior tothe delivery ofthe same to the drying zone.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a combustionzone, where the dry material is burned, inA which the material iscontinuously and slowly moved along a predetermined path as the burningtakes place, with substantially continuous discharge of the ash andnon-combustibles therefrom. Y

Another object is' to provide improved separating. means, in combinationwith the traveling bed of combustible materiah tor separate thenon-combustible objects from the ash.

A further object is to provideA meansY for' delivering preheated airunder pressure to the com- Y bustion chamber at a plurality of points,to promote the most efficient combustion of the material.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved draft controllinginstrumentalities, whereby the pressure and temperatureA conditionsthroughout all portions o-f the apparatus may be controlled at will.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will. beapparent from a consideration of the following description. of anillustrative embodiment, shown inthe accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a vertical section and partial elevation of an apparatusconstructed inaccordance with the invention; L i1 Y Figure 2jis atransverse section and Lpartial elevation, taken. substantially online2.--2 of, Fig.-

The apparatus shown for purposes of illustra.-

tion in the accompanying drawings is relatively large and massive, andis ofv a size to dispose of the garbage collected by cities` and towns,alithough it should be understood that certain features o-f theinvention may be employed in smaller installations- A plurality of'pairs of upwardly extending frame members lo, H', l2, i3 and to supportlower and upper platforms le and i6, to which access may be gained bysuitable stairways lil-f cr ladders or the like. Above the upperplatform i6, there isv an elongated, inclined, cylindrical, rotaryvdrier, represented` generally at- Zaai-1d' comprising a metallic outershell 211, a refractory lin-ingv 22 and a pair of annular tracks 23, 24,supported by rollers '5 journalled on supports carried by the platform,as is Well understood in the rotary kiln-art, the drier be'- ing drivenby suitable means, suchV` as an electric motor and speed reducer 2ohavingA a pinion 2lT in mesh with a large annular spur gear 28,encircling the shell?.4

At the upper end of the drier, there is aflarge hopper 30 having adischarge throat 3l communicating with the interior of the drier andsupported by appropriate frame members 3-2 positioned onthe upperplatform l5. A removable accessand inspection door 'S3 closes an openingthe hopper adjacent the dischargev throat, above a walkway 35, carriedby the framework.

The-upper end ci the hopper 3d" carries a @over 3'6, which is connectedto a forwardly4 extending hood 3l',V constituting the topof' a housingincluding side wallsA 38 and-bottom wall 39 for an infeed conveyor 4U.Thel latter is constituted by an endless belt or the like 42| having aplurality of wings or flights 42" projecting perpendioularl-y from itssurface, the belt being trained about rollersv 473, and d# at theentrance and discharge ends respectively, and being supported by a bedincluding longitudinally extending frame members. 45, carried bytransverse beams 4o, secured at theirl ends` to thel pairsof'vertical.posts. Either roller' may be positively driven, to impart move'- ment tothe; conveyor. As indi-cated in Figure 4, a chute 41, which mayconstitute the bottomv of a hopper, may be positioned to deliverthegarbage toithefupper run of the conveyor.

An elevated platform 5G, at the left or rear end ofr the apparatus, issupportedy upon the' upper ends of theivertical frame members Ill andsimi- Y 1art1-.amer members 511, extending upwardly' from the upperplatform I 6r. Mounted onthe'platfornr l 50 is a motor driven suctionfan housing v52, com.-

municating at its upper end with a discharge stack 53 and at its lowerend with an intake chamber 54. The latter is connected by laterally,downwardly and inwardly extending conduits 55 and 56 (Figure 2) to ajunction box 51, disposed above the upper end of the rotary drier andbelow the discharge end of the conveyor 40, and suspended from the oor39 of the conveyor housing. The conduits 55 and 5B extend laterallyaround the conveyor housing and enter the box 51 through the sidesthereof.

Referring to Figures 1 and 5, the upper surface of the hopper throat 3|is provided with a flange opening 58, to which is connected a flue pipe59, adapted to lead gases flowing through the rotary drier to the rearend wall of the junction box 51, for iiow through conduits 55 and 56 tothe fan housing 52 and stack 53.

The right-hand end Wall of box 51 is in communication through an opening60, controlled by a damper 6|, with a forwardly extending bypass conduit62, positioned above the drier 20 and below the conveyor 40, andcommunicating at its other end with the combustion chamber, now to bedescribed.

Supported upon the lower platform I is a combustion chamber made up inpart of refractory brickwork or the like and comprising vertical sidewalls 65, a front end wall G6, terminating upwardly in a forwardlycurved hood 61, embracing the lower end of the drier and the lower endof the by-pass conduit 62, and a rear top wall 68, terminating at itsrear end in a downwardly extending end wall 69. It will be understoodthat the top wall 68 is maintained at a relatively high temperature bythe combustion in the chamber therebelow.

A traveling grate 10, of known construction is trained for movementabout rolls 1| and 12, mounted on shafts supported in any appropriatemanner, preferably in external bearings carried by the platform I5,movement being imparted to the grate by slowly driving one o r the otherof the rollers, to advance the bed of burning ymaterial, indicated at13, toward the left in Figures 1 and 3.

Above the top wall 68 of the combustion chamber is a housing 15 for atwo-stage power blower 16, adapted to supply air to the combustionchamber. The intake of the blower housing is connected to a screenedsuction chamber 11, positioned in the space between the furnace top wall68 and the lower end of the drier 20, whereby air, heated by said topwall and by the lower end of the drier, is drawn into the blower anddelivered to the combustion chamber. The discharge end of the blower 15is connected by a downwardly extending conduit 18 to a wind box 8|having a centrally located, forwardly projecting outlet 19, controlledby an adjustable damper 80, and laterally and forwardly extendingpassages 82, at the lower end thereof, leading to the space 83, belowthe traveling grate. A plurality of laterally, upwardly and inwardlyextending conduits 85 deliver air from this substantially confinedspace, below the grates, to tuyres 86 in the side walls 65 of thecombustion chamber, above the traveling grate.

Extending through the wind box 8| and the forwardly projecting, dampercontrolled opening 19 is a pipe 81 having a burner nozzle 88 on theinner end thereof, for the delivery of fuel oil or gas to the combustionchamber for initiating the combustion of the garbage, as hereinafterexplained. Y

At the discharge end of the chain grate lli.. the combustion chamber endand side walls are shaped to provide a hopper S0, having a throat 9|,delivering the burned material and non-cornbustibles to a double screenshaking grate 92 extending transversely of the combustion chamber andadapted to sift ashes downwardly, but to deliver unburned objects, suchas cans, bottles and the like to one side, as indicated by the arrow inFigure 2. In a casing 93, below the shaking screen 92, there ispositioned an ash conveyor 94, arranged vto deliver the ashtransversely, in the opposite direction. Take-off conveyors, notshown,may receive the ash and noncombustible objects, or suitable receptaclesmay be employed for this purpose.

The front wall 6B of the combustion chamber has an. opening |00,supporting an outwardly extending conduit IBI, having an adjustabledamper |82 in its outer end, communicating with external atmosphere, sothat cool air in variable amounts may be drawn into the lower end of therotary drier 20, to control the temperature thereof.

It should be understood that the fans and blowers in the housings 52 and15 are driven by variable speed electric motors and that the speed ofrotation of the rotary drier and the speed of movement of the travelinggrate can also be varied at will. Similiarly, the dampers 5| and |92 arevariable. As a result, the air pressure and temperature conditions atall points in the apparatus may be controlled at all times.

In order that proper control of the pressure and temperature conditionsin the apparatus may be effected, instruments are provided forcontinuously reading and recording these conditions. Electricaltemperature taking devices, such as thermocouples are positioned withinthe apparatus as indicated at H35, |06, |61, and Hi8. Air pressureresponsive devices are positioned at ||0 and while draft orsub-atmospheric pressure responsive devices are inserted as indicated atH2, ||3, H4, and H5. All of these devices are preferably connected toactuate external registering or indicating devices.

Referring to Figure 7 showing the control panel, the four temperaturestaken by the thermocouples |05, |55, |61, and |58 may be read on theindicator and recorder |20. Toggle switch manipulating handles |2| and22 may be shifted to close and open the damper |532, to control theadmission ofY cooling air to the lower end of the rotary drier, when thetemperature conditions indicate that a change is desired.

Frame |23 encloses indicators for the several air pressure and draftpressure devices. Thus, the air pressure in the wind box 18, determinedby device indicated at III', the furnace draft at point |05, indicatedby gage |05', the furnace uptake draft at |55 by gage |56', the by-passdraft at point |01 by gage |01', and the stack draft at point |08 bygage |98.

Controller |25 may be employed to control the speed of the stack exhaustfan in casing 52, while controller |26 may be connected to control thespeed of the furnace force draft blower 15. These controllers may beautomatic or manual.

IThe device indicated at |21 .may indicate and record the speed of`movement of the infeed conveyor 40 in feet per minute and may haveassociatedtherewith controlling devices |23, |29, to decrease orincrease the speed of movement thereof. Similiarly, the speed of'rotation of the rotary drier 2i)V may be indicated at |30 and decreasedor increased by controllers |3I, 1.32.

Finally, the vspeedof movement of the grate 1l! may be indicated at |35and decreased or increased by controllers :|35 and 131,

It Vis thoughtY that the operation of the ap.- paratus of the presentinvention will be clear from a consideration ofthe foregoingdescription.

During normal. operation, garbage, mixed with trash andnonscombustibles, as collected by a city refuse department, for instanceis delivered by a clam shell or any appropriate mechanism, to. theconveyor 40, by dropping the same upon the hopper plate i6 (Figure `i).The conveyor moves the material at a substantially constant rate,rearwardly,v toward the left, under the hood 3T and dischargesl the sameinto the hopper 30. During this movement, the material is somewhatpreheated by heat rising from the drier v2l) and the by-pass conduit 62.The garbage falls from the hopper 3i) by gravity into the rear, entranceend of the rotary drier. It passes slowly toward the discharge endthereof, and is constantly tumbled and agitated during this passage. Hotproducts of combustion simultaneously vflow through the drier,countercurrent 'to the garbage, and thereby dehydrate the same. Themoisture laden products oi combustion pass upwardly through conduit m8to junction box i? and thence, through the lateral pipes 55 and 56v tothe suction fan 52 and stack 53.

The dehydrated garbage falls by gravity from the lower end of therotating drier 22 uponY the traveling grate 10, where it is movedcontinuously in a rearward direction toward the left, as the burningcontinues. Air to support this combustion is delivered by ian to Windbox 8 I, from where it flows through inlet 19 above the burning massand, through passages 82 tothe space below the grate. Some of the airdelivered to this undergrate space ows upwardly through the grate andthe material thereon and other portions are delivered by side passages85 to tuyres 86, above the gra-te.

If the temperature in thev rotary drier rises unduly, it may be loweredin two Ways, i. e. by opening the damper l02, to admit atmospheric airfor flow through the drier and by opening the damper El, therebydiverting a substantial portion of the hot gases through the by-passpipe 62, for delivery directly to the stack. By varying the speed of thefans 'l5 and 52 and byV changing the positions of the dampers and'by'varying the speeds of movement of the infeed conveyor, the drier andthe traveling grate, nice contro1 of the conditions within theincinerator may be effected.

The rash and non-combustibles are separated by the screen 92 andconveyed to separate points of delivery by the screen and the ashconveyor 9.4, respectively.

During the normal operation ofthe apparatus, the garbage, burning on thetraveling grate 1D, supplies suicient heat to dehydrate the incominggarbage, and the operation continues, without the addition of furtherfuel. However, after the apparatus has been shut down and when it is tobe started up again, heat for dehydrating the incoming garbage may besupplied by the burner 88. The `burner may be shut off, as soon as asubstantial bed. of burning garbagehas been built up on ther grate 1.0..n

'y tion, it is tobe understood that the invention is Vnot limitedy tothe details of construction shown in the accompanying drawings andreferred to above, butincludes all modications coming within the scopeof the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A garbage incinerator comprising an elongated, inclined, cylindrical,rotary drier, means for rotating the same, an elongated housing insuperimposed, closely spaced, heat exchange relation above the drier,means within the housing for delivering material to the interior of theupper-end of'said drier, a stack disposed exteriorly of the housinghaving communication with the interior of the upper end of the drier, acombustion chamber below the lower end of the drier, in directcommunication therewith for the delivery of products of combustionthereto, a grate in said chamber positioned to receive material from thedrier and meansr for delivering air under pressure to the combustionchamber to support combustion of the material therein, the products ofcombustion passing through the drier serving to pre-heat the materialthereabove on the material delivery means in the housing.

y2. A garbage incinerator comprising an elongated, inclined,cylindrical, rotary drier, means for rotating the same, an elongatedhousing disposedA above the drier in alignment and in heat exchangerelation therewith, a conveyor within the housing Yfor deliveringmaterial to the in terior ofthe upper end ofthe drier,` a stack dis,-posed above the upper end of the drier, exteriorly of the housing,having communication with the interior of the ,drier adjacent the upperend thereof, a combustion chamber having direct communication with thelower end ofthe drier, a by-pass conduit extending' from the combustionchamber to the stack and positioned between and in alignment with thehousing and the drier, and means for varying the relative proportion ofproducts of combustion passing from the combustion chamber through thedrier and through the lay-pass connection, respectively, tothe stack.

3. A garbagev incinerator comprising an elon- -3 gated, inclined,cylindrical rotary drier, means ,for rotating the same, an elongatedhousing disposed above the drier in alignment and in heat exchangerelation therewith, a conveyor within the housing for deliveringmaterial to the interior of the upper end of the drier, a stackpositioned above. the upper end of the housing and. drier, a junctionbox between the upper end of the drier and housing, conduit meansdisposed.' exteriorly ofthe housing extending from the junction box tothe stack, means establishing communication from the upper end of thedrier to the junction box, acombustion chamber having` directcommunication withr the lower end of the drier to receive materialtherefrom and to deliver products of combustion thereto and having aportion projecting above the drier, a by- Dass. conduit disposed betweenthe drier and the housing and` communicating from the upwardlyprojecting-,portion of the combustion chamber to the junction box, andmeans for varying the relative proportionr of products of combustionpassing through the drier and through the bypass` conduit,respectively,` to the junction box and thencel to the stack.

4;. A garbage incinerator comprising` anV infeed conveyor, a hopperatthedischarge end thereofl having a laterally directed, rinclineddeliverythroat, an elongated, inclined rotary drier having its upperend'registering with the lower end of said throat for the reception ofgarbage therefrom, a combustion chamber adjacent the lower end of thedrier positioned to receive material therefrom and to deliver productsof combustion thereto for flow therethrough, said throat havingsubstantially the same. vdiameter as the drier, to receive all of theproductsof combustion flowing therethrough, and having an opening in itsupper surface for the escape of said products of combustion, a stack,means connecting said opening with said stack, and means for inducing aflow of said products from said opening through said connecting means tosaid stack, whereby the products do not ow through said hopper.

5. A garbage incinerator comprising an infeed conveyor, a hopper at thedischarge end thereof having a laterally directed, inclined deliverythroat, an elongated, inclined rotary drier below and in the samevertical plane as the conveyor and having its upper end registering withthe lower end of said throat for the reception of garbage therefrom, acombustion chamber adjacent the lower end of the drier positioned toreceive material therefrom and to deliver products of combustion to thelower end of the drier for flow therethrough into said throat, a stackabove said conveyor at the upper end of the drier, conduit meansextending around the'conveyor and communicating with said throat in itsupper surface, and a fan associatedV with said stack to induce saidproducts of combustion to flow to the stack from the throat without flowthrough the hopper.

6. A garbage incinerator comprising an infeed conveyor, an elongatedhousing substantially enclosing said conveyor, a hopper at the dischargeend of the conveyor having a laterally and downwardly inclined deliverythroat, an elongated, inclined, rotary drier positioned below and in thesame vertical plane as said housing and conveyor and having its upperend registering in substantially sealed relation with said throat forthe reception of garbage therefrom, a combustion chamber adjacent thelower end of the drier positioned to receive material from the drier andto deliver products of combustion thereto for flow therethrough intosaid throat, a stack positioned above said housing at the discharge endof the conveyor, conduit means communicating with the stack, laterallyspanning the housing and communicating with said throat through an upperportion thereof, and a fan in the stack whereby said products ofcombustion flow from the drier through the throat to the stack withoutpassing through the hopper or conveyor housing.

'7. A garbage incinerator comprising an infeed conveyor, an elongatedhousing substantially enclosing said conveyor, a hopper at the dischargeend of the conveyor having a laterally and downwardly inclined deliverythroat, an elongated, inclined, rotary drier positioned below saidhousing and conveyor and having its upper end registering insubstantially sealed relation with said throat for the reception ofgarbage therefrom, a combustion chamber adjacent the lower end of thedrier having a traveling grate therein positioned to receive materialfrom the drier and to deliver products of combustion thereto for owtherethrough into said throat, a stack positioned above said housing atthe discharge end of the conveyor in the same vertical plane as thedrier and housing, conduit' meanscommunicating with the stack, laterallyspanning the housing and Vcommunicating with said throat through anupper portion thereof, and a fan associated with said stack whereby saidproducts of combustion ow from the drier through the throat to the stackwithout passingv through the hopper or conveyor housing.

8. A garbage incinerator comprising an infeed conveyor, an elongatedhousing substantially enclosing said conveyor, a hopper at the dischargeend of the conveyor having a laterally and downwardly inclined deliverythroat, an elongated, inclined, rotary drier positioned below saidhousing and conveyor and having its upper end registeringinsubstantially sealed relation with said throat for the reception ofgarbage therefrom, a combustion chamber adjacent the lower end of thedrier positioned to receive material from the drier and to deliverproducts of combustion thereto for flow therethrough into said throat, astack positioned above said housing at the discharge end of theconveyor, an exhaust fan associated with said stack, and a pair ofconduits extending laterally in opposite directions and upwardly to thestack around the outside of said housing and communicating with saidthroat, whereby said products of combustion are withdrawn therefrom,without entering the hopper or the conveyor housing.

9. A garbage incinerator comprising an infeed conveyor, an elongatedhousing substantially enclosing said conveyor, a hopper at the dischargeend of the conveyor having a forwardly and downwardly inclined deliverythroat, an elongated, inclined, rotary drier positioned below and in thesame vertical plane Vas said housing and conveyor, and having its upperend registering in substantially sealed relation with said throat forthe reception of garbage therefrom and for the flow to said throat ofgases from the drier. a combustion chamber adjacent the lower end of thedrier positioned to receive material from the drier and to delivergaseous products of combustion thereto for ow therethrough into saidthroat, a stack positioned above said housing at the discharge end ofthe conveyor, conduit means communicating with the stack, laterallyspanning the housing and communicating with the vthroat through theupper portion thereof below RAINER H. KNIPPING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

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